Connectors for hollow, liquid-carrying conduits or tubes have been realized in a great variety of types and shapes. These connectors include threaded fittings, push-fit connectors, flange and/or hinge-based fittings, as well as barb fittings.
In certain applications, connectors are desired for coupling conduits to liquid manifolds, such as a liquid-cooled assembly configured to couple to at least one electronic component to be cooled to facilitate removal of heat generated by the at least one electronic component.
Many conventional connectors pose disadvantages when employed with liquid manifolds, such as the above-noted liquid-cooled assembly. For instance, with few exceptions, most thread-based connectors apply a torque moment on at least one of the connecting partners. A torque is an undesired load to an electronic assembly, especially assemblies with high interconnect densities with multiple mismatching materials brought close together. Flange-based couplings demand a high material and space volume, while barbed fittings raise the question of multiple uses of the female connector part, and potentially require a higher tooling complexity. Connecting fittings that require an outer hinge-type feature, such as barb and flange fittings, are comparably time consuming to employ. In addition, push-fit connectors typically require either an insert for a liquid-carrying manifold or complex tooling.